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I've been following this thread with interest as I'm pushing to get the
department to buy some books for my MA thesis! I've already got a few
(some mine and some internal) but would welcome any recommendations.
General thrust of the thesis is "Documentation for the Millenium".
Basically it's (project based) the creation of lit for a new access control
system and determining the best delivery method. With the growth of the
"communication super highway" (aim in UK is to link every school/college to
the Internet) producing clued up computer literate end users(!!) the aim is
to provide lit which meets the needs of both this new breed and the more
traditional user.
Aim is to provide a set of documentation that will meet ALL needs (I know
it's maybe wishfil thinking!). Initially this will involve finding out
what users want - what info, do they use the manuals, if not why not; do
they use online docs etc. Quesionnaire with as many follow up visits as
is possible. I am therefore after books on:
Surveys (I followed the trend on this some time ago and have some ideas
form there already).
Online documentation (I currently reading Horton's book - excellent) -
help and other online docs. It has been suggested that we provide
minimal lit and the rest as PDFs which the user can view online or print
as required. Also looking at HTML (I know nothing about it really so a
basic book would be useful - Deborah and Eric's Dummies book?)
Visual Communication - If we go down the online route then it must, I
feel, also be visually appealing and easy to use. Also included in this
would be the use of visuals in hardcopy.
User interfaces design/human factors - how does the user affect the
design etc
How people learn (got some from my wife who's a teacher) - the different
methods of learning. Do people remember more visually? textually etc.
A broad spectrum, I know, but all recommendations appreciated.
